Monsoonal Rubbish Hits Bali

CNN PRODUCER NOTEDavidFullard captured these photos while on the Legian and Kuta beaches of Bali, Indonesia, on January 23. He says the beaches were littered with trash that were swept into the area by monsoonal tides. He's seen these sort of trash accumulated on the beaches of Bali before. 'It really is a disgrace to see such a huge amount of rubbish littering our seas and beaches in this way,' he said. He's currently on a two week trip to Bali, a destination he frequents regularly. 'The locals try their best to clean the beaches, walking with rakes and bagging the rubbish as they go. Many tourists I have spoken to are utterly disgusted with the state of the beach right now.'
- Jareen, CNN iReport producer

The annual monsoon in Bali, Indonesia has brought tons and tons of rubbish to the shores of Legian and Kuta beaches.

The rubbish comes from the rivers and lakes of Java, the next Indonesian Island to the west, where people dump their rubbish into the rivers. When the monsoon arrives with heavy rains it flushes the rubbish down stream to the sea where the strong winds and currents push it onto the beaches of Bali.

A massive effort from Balinese officials attempts to clean the beach during the morning, but more rubbish washes up throughout the day.

The rubbish appears along the beaches of Bali from January to March and can be many feet deep at times. Many different plastics wash ashore and beaches have to be cleaned daily.

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